A man who fled the UK before a court appearance is believed to have been kidnapped in Spain by a gang posing falsely as police.

An international manhunt is now underway to try and locate the whereabouts of 25-year-old Merseyside man Francis Brennan.

He absconded to the Costa Blanca last October ahead of a sentencing date for an assault charge and was last seen in the town of Javea, Alicante, on January 24.

On this date it is believed he was stopped by a number of men who posed as officers and then took Brennan ‘against his will’.

His parents, Carl and Janet, are now appealing for any information from the public that may lead to him.

Brennan disappeared from the town of Javea in southern Spain (Picture: Soyazur/Getty)

‘We got a call from one of his friends and his girlfriend back in January to say that Francis had been arrested on January 24 but we later learnt from the Spanish authorities that this was not the case and that he had been taken against his will,’ they said.

‘This has come as an awful shock to us as Francis is our only son and we can still remember him as a fun-loving child who was football mad.’

Following pleas from his family not to leave, Brennan told his parents he would return after Christmas and was later visited in Spain by his girlfriend, Sophie Staunton, who begged him to return.

Detective superintendent Richie Carr, from Merseyside Police, said: ‘Francis’s disappearance is completely out of character and because of this, as well as his associations and lifestyle, ourselves and the Spanish police are extremely concerned for his safety.

‘We do however believe he has been taken against his will and we and his family are hopeful that someone in the criminal fraternity here in Merseyside has information that could help bring about the safe return of Francis.’